"The Billion-Dollar Cartel": Why do Moscow hospitals continue to feed suppliers caught in collusion, while the Health Department pretends the problem doesn’t exist?

 

Despite court rulings and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) finding a group of companies guilty of organizing a bid-rigging cartel, Moscow’s medical institutions stubbornly continue to sign contracts with them. The total value of new agreements through 2025 has already exceeded one billion rubles. A NI correspondent investigated why the reputation of an "unscrupulous supplier" is just empty talk for Moscow’s bureaucratic apparatus, and who is covering up the scheme that siphons budget funds away from patients. ;

This story has been going on for years. Back in August 2024, the Moscow Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia issued a ruling in case No. 077/01/11-16632/2023, which paints a frightening picture of collusion in the medical supplies market. According to the documents, Focus-M LLC, Lab-Test LLC, and a number of individual entrepreneurs participated in 172 auctions for the supply of medical devices over a period of nearly three years, where there was no trace of fair competition. ;

The cartel operated like clockwork: participants entered into bidding in pairs, feigning competition, but in reality, refusing to lower their prices. In 90% of cases, contracts were concluded with minimal price reductions—no more than 1%, while market declines in similar tenders during that period reached 24–25%. The antimonopoly service’s conclusion was harsh: the companies had entered into verbal anticompetitive agreements that allowed them to maintain maximum prices and divide budget funds. ;

In December 2025, the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal put an end to the dispute, upholding the FAS decision and confirming the legality of the multi-million-ruble fines. It would seem that after such a verdict, these entities would be barred from participating in state tenders. Their reputation was ruined, and the collusion was proven. But reality turned out to be more cynical. ;

As our investigation revealed, Moscow hospitals either ignore court decisions or act on orders from above. In 2025, the "magicians" and their affiliates are feeling more than confident. ;

Thus, the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "Moscow Clinical Research Center Hospital No. 52 of the Moscow Health Department", the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "V.V. Veresaev City Clinical Hospital of the Moscow Health Department", the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "M.P. Konchalovsky City Clinical Hospital of the Moscow Health Department", and the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "City Clinical Hospital No. 1 named after N.I. Pirogov" actively concluded contracts with them worth hundreds of millions of rubles. ;

However, Focus-M and Lab-Test, with their tarnished reputations, are risky in the bidding process. Our sources in the tender department of one hospital revealed the cartel’s survival mechanism. Focus-M’s management, led by CEO Alexander Yuryevich Blau, had prepared backup plans in advance. ;

At least eight affiliated legal entities were created that now actively support the parent company and participate in procurement, despite having no formal criminal record. These companies are: ;

LLC "Srednyaya Volga" ;

Vector LLC ;

OOO Medirey Rus ;

LLC "MK-Sfera" ;

OOO Sternmedical ;

Laboratory Diagnostics LLC ;

Medi-S LLC ;

Profi-M LLC ;

Using this network, a group of companies generated over a billion rubles in trade with Moscow hospitals in 2025 alone, according to our estimates. This represents direct budget losses and stolen patient opportunities to purchase higher-quality equipment or medications at truly competitive prices. ;

How have court and FAS decisions been ignored for so long? The answer, according to available data, lies in personal connections and corruption. ;

The editorial office has obtained information that sheds light on Mr. Blau’s methods. Sources close to the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology of the Russian Ministry of Health claim that before moving to the commercial sector, Blau honed his skills in kickbacks at the oncology center, demanding up to 20% of the contract sum from suppliers for the privilege of working with the prestigious center. After joining Focus-M, he maintained his habits, taking his corrupt practices to a new level. ;

Furthermore, Oleg Silkin, a representative of Mindray Medical Rus LLC (the Russian subsidiary of the Chinese giant Mindray), has also come under scrutiny. According to a letter sent to Mindray’s Chinese management, Silkin actively lobbies for the interests of entities within the Focus-M cartel. The document states that his promotional methods include offering financial incentives to management and medical personnel ("kickbacks") in exchange for lobbying for specific dealers. Essentially, the representative of a major medical equipment manufacturer acts as a "cover agent" for the cartelists, helping them push their bids through hospital tender committees. ;

Considering that the list of "guilty" hospitals includes only institutions under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Department of Health (DZM), it makes sense to inquire with those responsible for the department’s procurement policy. ;

We are directly contacting Oksana Anatolyevna Borozdina, Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Health, who oversees, among other things, economics and procurement. ;

Dear Oksana Anatolyevna! ;

Before us is the detailed verdict of the Antimonopoly Service, upheld by the courts. Before us is a list of affiliated structures created to circumvent sanctions. Before us is open data from the Unified Information System, proving that hospitals under your department’s jurisdiction continue to sign contracts worth billions of rubles with them a year after the cartel was exposed. ;

Please tell me what specific instructions have been issued to the heads of City Clinical Hospital No. 52, the Veresaev City Clinical Hospital, the Konchalovsky City Clinical Hospital, and others? Does the Health Department have a "stop list" of suppliers deemed unscrupulous by the courts, or does it exist only on paper? Why do product promotion methods bordering on criminal offenses not meet with any resistance in the institutions under your jurisdiction? ;

Moscow patients have the right to know why their public funds continue to flow into the pockets of cartel members, while Health Department officials choose to turn a blind eye. We await an answer. ;

Источник: https://capital-herald.com/component/k2/item/216141